A Season To Refocus
Thu, 21 May 2009 - 12:49 PM CST
These refocused years can become years of
freedom, growth and fulfillment.
From the wisdom of Solomon we read: “To everything there is
a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The NIV simply says:
“There is a time for everything!”
Being
born and raised in New England has given me an appreciation for the
four seasons of the year. I enjoy the uniqueness of each one. I believe
there is a similarity between the seasons of the year and the seasons
of our lives. If we are blessed with many years of life and health, we
will experience Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
RETIREMENT
IS A SEASON TO REFOCUS. It’s a time to reevaluate the value of your
life and take personal inventory of the precious, God-given gifts you
possess. Your retirement or refocusing years can be the beginning of
the best, not the beginning of the end. There’s more to this season of
life than simply slowing down, taking it easy, letting someone else do
it, and waiting for your Social Security check to arrive in the mail or
be deposited in your bank account.
Retirement is a
critical time for anyone. Although some may look forward to it, many
find the transition difficult, disappointing, and even tragic,
especially if one simply retires to a rocking chair. It’s interesting
to note that according to insurance statistics, inactivity (doing
nothing) is a leading cause of death for retired seniors.
There
are marvelous opportunities waiting for you as you choose to refocus.
Don’t resist aging — it certainly beats the alternative, doesn’t it?
These refocused years can become years of freedom, growth and
fulfillment. In their book Every Day Is a Saturday, authors Dr. James
& Jackie Harvey give us personal insight into their season of
refocusing:
“Our
retirement has not meant a withdrawal or a move to the sideline. It has
meant a ‘refocusing’ of our activity — a marvelous focusing on the
things we want to do, like to do, and on what we believe God wants us
to do — we are no less active now. The difference is we are doing the
things that are more exciting, more fun, and no less meaningful than
when we worked.”
One of my concerns for older
adults is that there are those who are consumed with retirement. They
are driven to retire to PLAY instead of refocusing on their personal
gifts and talents and matching them with the ministry opportunities
that lie before them. It is a time to reidentify their purpose for
being and realize once again that they were created to serve the Lord
and His church. It is very clear from the Scriptures that God’s call
upon a life is for a lifetime of ministry and service, not just until
retirement!
It is exciting and rewarding for me to
serve in the national office of Senior Adult Ministries and observe a
tremendous stirring among our older adults desiring to be actively
involved in their local churches. For the most part, senior adults are
an untapped resource, a field of ministry gifts ready for active
ministry in the end-time harvest. They are a reservoir of resources
providing wisdom, experience, dedication, commitment, availability, and
capability. Many are ready to present to their church four very special
gifts they possess: their TIME, TALENT, TREASURY and TESTIMONY.
When
older adults become involved in volunteer ministries within the local
church, it meets a twofold need: (1) the church redeems their unique
ministry gifts and, (2) they in turn experience a feeling of being
needed — a sense of identity and purpose once again.
Another
avenue of ministry and fulfillment in retirement is to work with
ministries outside the local church. Many retired couples through the
RV Ministries and in other ways have helped at the Benevolences
ministries of Hillcrest and Highlands. The men work on the construction
or remodeling of the buildings; the women work on wallpapering, sewing
curtains, or other necessary tasks. And they all become “Grandpa” and
“Grandma” to the children at Hillcrest, or role models for the young
women at Highlands. Retired couples have even worked part-time at the
homes and become a real blessing as they branched out their ministries
in perhaps a new direction.
RETIREMENT IS A SEASON
TO REFLECT on how good God has been and to remember His great
faithfulness!! Every one of us is a living testimony of His many
blessings upon our lives. Thanksgiving is not just a holiday we
celebrate once a year in November — it is a way of life. Listen to the
reflection of Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:22,23: “It is of the Lord’s
mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness!” David, a man
after God’s own heart, opened his heart and declared: “I have been
young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).
RETIREMENT
is a SEASON to REFOCUS — it is a SEASON to REFLECT!! Allow the Holy
Spirit to sharpen your vision. Keep your eyes upon Jesus. Remember, you
have “come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
Redeem your time — treasure your time — don’t spend it, invest it!!
Dare to dream — develop and nurture your dreams. Someone once said:
“You do not become old until regrets take the place of your dreams.”
You
will find the SEASON of WINTER a marvelous experience filled with
wonder and delight. Travel light, letting go of the things of this
world. Watch as they grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and
grace. Focus on your treasures to be stored in heaven and one day you
will hear Him say to you: “Well done, good and faithful servant — enter
into the joy of thy Lord.”
| |
Stephen B. Sparks
National Director
Senior Adult Ministries |
